Anyone else here waiting on an ordered guitar???

[Jonathan0996]

I agree with the philosophy of not bugging the builder. Hurrying someone who is making a custom instrument for you never made sense to me.

[Galisti G]

thank you and I totally agree.
The wait is the hardest thing. . .

[mgrier1]

Originally Posted by Jonathan0996

I agree with the philosophy of not bugging the builder. Hurrying someone who is making a custom instrument for you never made sense to me.

This may change for you when you reach year 4 with no end in sight - on a 2 year delivery promise...

My Best,

Mike

[myjeh]

Originally Posted by Jonathan0996

I agree with the philosophy of not bugging the builder. Hurrying someone who is making a custom instrument for you never made sense to me.

What if a builder is not responding any E-mails or calls. What should a customer do?

[Down and Out in NYC]

Originally Posted by Jonathan0996

I agree with the philosophy of not bugging the builder. Hurrying someone who is making a custom instrument for you never made sense to me.

I couldn't agree more.

Why bother the guy who's been promisin you pictures of your build in a few days for like I don't even remember anymore. Is it 3 or 4 years ?

Why bother the guy who said a specific piece of work would be done in 6 weeks, to only have it completed 18 months later.

Why bother the guy who claims his CNC just went down, while he was makng decorative guitar ornaments for the back of somebodies car. It really makes you wonder if these decorative pieces were ordered before you placed your order for an actual guitar in 2005, but you wouldn't want to ask him that. It might bug him, especially when you know that your gonna have to leave multiple messages, e mails and PM's before you get a response. If and only if he chooses to respond.

[Galisti G]

a lot of PO'ed people out there waiting for their guitars.
Pick your maker carefully.

lets start a discussion site on these mysterious guitar makers that don't return emails,
take way longer than agreed upon to make your guitar and who's CNC
just went down. Somehow I NEVER am informed who they are?
Why?

[artguy47]

IMHO, it is best to deal with well recognised companies(like Suhr, Grosh, Thorn, to name a few I'm familiar with), or at least a local builder you can drive over and see.

Currently doing both.

[Jonathan0996]

Originally Posted by myjeh

What if a builder is not responding any E-mails or calls. What should a customer do?

I guess I'm fortunate not to have had any extreme problems like that. Holst has been very responsive, although not as quick as he originally projected.

Something that takes 18 months after a promise of six weeks is a little extreme, as is a guy who doesn't return calls or emails. I suppose I'd lose patience too at that point. On the other hand, my luthier is on pace to take 13-14 months to finish a guitar he promised in 9-10 months. However, I think you have to take those things with a grain of salt. Given all the things that can happen to the schedule of a guy who is essentially running a one-man shop, a 25 percent increase in build time doesn't seem unreasonable to me.

He's been responsive to my calls and emails, and he's moving along on the project. My view is that it's better to get along with the guy than raise hell about what ultimately will be a trivial delay. What matters to me is getting a great guitar. Assuming that happens, I'll be a happy customer.

[Galisti G]

JONATHAN, you sound like you have a great guitar maker, good luck.

My guitar maker called me tonight. He wanted to discuss what type of inlay to put on the side of the neck, neck markers, and that tomorrow he's attaching the spruce top to the body. Also that the custom sized case has arrived. Sounds boring but he made my day.

It has to suck to have a guitar maker (of unknown origin) not be like this.

[MCK]

I think the whole business model of 'pay a significant deposit and wait patiently for x number of months to years' is seriously flawed in that there is no guarantee what tomorrow holds for any individual, be it the builder or the customer.

How many times have we seen good builder gone bad business manager situations and how many more times do we need to?

IMHO, money should be placed in 3rd party escrow to be released on agreed conditions on agreed times. This model works in many other businesses. I am done placing deposits on anything I want in the future. If a builder has finished stock I will buy it outright. If not its Emporium searching time!

Nothing is worth the anxiety and anticipation over so many years.

[iim7v7im7]

I have two builds ongoing:

A custom archtop with Bill Comins which should be complete next April '013 (about a year lead time). I also have a custom Strat being built by Ron Kirn which should be ready this July (about a 2 month lead time). Both builders have been quite responsive to my communications.

[Rich Rice]

I would suggest at least inquiring with the Better Business Bureau before entering into any agreement with a builder.

Having gone through a 9 month build with an unknown (to me) builder in Brazil who had no phone or internet access, I vowed I would never put anybody through that mental anguish. Luckily in the end I received a beautiful instrument, but got gray hair worrying for the entire build process.

Third party escrow isn't the worst idea, except many small builders need to use the deposit money in order to pay for materials and outside services.

The problems that arise with many of these new builders is they may lack discipline in expenditures, resulting in misappropriation of customer funds. This is less likely when dealing with a legitimate business as opposed to having Joe Blow build you a guitar. A proper business will protect its reputation fiercely, and make sure you receive what you order. A hobbyist can disappear without too much trouble, and is a problem for the client and for the rest of the builders.

Communication is key. and staying in contact with your builder is the best policy.

From a small builder's standpoint, this is a two way street. More than once we have finished a highly specialized instrument only to find that the customer has been unable or unwilling to pay at the end of the build. Eventually we have been able to sell these at a deep discount, losing valuable time and money better spent on those customers who will finish the transaction as agreed.

The best insurance is doing your due diligence in making sure your builder has established a good track record, then staying in touch along the way. It's better to ask the questions as you go than to assume that everything is OK. A good builder will be willing to answer any and all questions regarding the project in a timely fashion.

A quick search on Google will bring out any red flags very quickly- bad news travels fast. See what customers have said about your builder before entering into any agreement.

[AzCat]

Received an update from GMP on my Roxie. Dan wasn't happy with the first iteration of my inlays and also wasn't happy with the layout of the inlays on the first neck they built (pic below). Presently recutting inlays & placing them with a modified layout in another neck. Can't wait to see the result!

Prototype:

[myjeh]

Originally Posted by Jonathan0996

I guess I'm fortunate not to have had any extreme problems like that. Holst has been very responsive, although not as quick as he originally projected.

Something that takes 18 months after a promise of six weeks is a little extreme, as is a guy who doesn't return calls or emails. I suppose I'd lose patience too at that point. On the other hand, my luthier is on pace to take 13-14 months to finish a guitar he promised in 9-10 months. However, I think you have to take those things with a grain of salt. Given all the things that can happen to the schedule of a guy who is essentially running a one-man shop, a 25 percent increase in build time doesn't seem unreasonable to me.

He's been responsive to my calls and emails, and he's moving along on the project. My view is that it's better to get along with the guy than raise hell about what ultimately will be a trivial delay. What matters to me is getting a great guitar. Assuming that happens, I'll be a happy customer.

You have a good patient personality that I do not have. I am more into strict contracts and laws. Basically, contracts between builders and customers should be kept. If there is any violation to the contract, a violator should pay for the consequence. This is what I am thinking.

I hate the builder who promised 9-10 months period and finishing the guitar in 14 months. It is a clear violation of the contract, to me.

Sometimes, "personal" problems can happen. If a builder is a professional, he/she should count "personal" problems into the contract. Still, a builder should contact, explain and apologize to the customer when any violation happens. To me, this is normal.

I care about a great guitar, but also, I care about a contract. In any case, a contract should be kept.

This sense of strict contracts, also, apply to customers. I kept my contract by paying the money on time. What if I delay my payment by three month because of my "personal" issues? Will a guitar builder understand my three month-late-playment?

I had great experiences with the Asher guitar. Mr. Asher was easy to contact, was a great communicator, kept the guitar building contract and so on. I got my Asher guitar that I really like. But, some builders are not like that.

[s2y]

Originally Posted by AzCat

Received an update from GMP on my Roxie. Dan wasn't happy with the first iteration of my inlays and also wasn't happy with the layout of the inlays on the first neck they built (pic below). Presently recutting inlays & placing them with a modified layout in another neck. Can't wait to see the result!

Prototype:

Prototype looks ok to me. It'll be interesting to see what he does to fix them.